Raggedy-Taggedy Little Plaything
by TeamUnitedNerds
Summary: Ash finds Raggedy Princess in the mud outside of his house, and brings her back to his home


Her entire life, Raggedy Princess had been treated as little more than a joke. Naturally, who would take the armless, stitched-together monstrosity that she was seriously, even if she was royalty. She was barely even royalty, control of her kingdom was left mostly to her brother, the prince, whereas she was at best a symbol of power with no actual command. The most value she saw in herself was as a toy, a doll that existed only to lie in the lap or someone who loved her in the same way that any child would love a toy. She gave them security, and temporary though it was, it made her feel important for a little while.

But she eventually grew tired of being loved, and thrown out, only to toss herself into the lap or someone else for temporary validation. She wanted someone who would love her always, someone who would hold her close during thunderous stormy nights and long, warm summer days.

Raggedy Princess would usually transport herself to her new owners by jumping onto the carts of merchants, and wait until someone in need of a doll bought her. She spotted a small cart outside of her kingdom. Using her unstable, stubby legs, she darted for it. Her feet were slowed down by the disgusting mud that surrounded her. The ground was reducing to a pit of repulsive, slimy mud by the rain that still poured relentlessly from the sky.

Her weakly stitched together legs buckled to the side, causing her to collapse on the ground. She shuddered as she sunk into the mud around her, sinking deeper and deeper into the filth, with no arms to help her up. She moaned, her voice sounding hallowed and detached, almost ghostly, but nobody could hear her.

She was always aware that she was a helpless and pitiful creature, but never was did she realize it more than now. She could lie there forever, meaning nothing more to anyone than any other discarded plaything.

A traveler was walking at the same time, hobbling along the ground with a crutch. He would stumble, his crutch sinking into the soft ground. The arm that didn't hold his crutch was currently in a cast, and still looked to be bent in a somewhat unnatural position. His hand was still free, however He winced with pain with every movement he made, but tried his best to keep his expression stoic, for fear of looking weak or vulnerable. His skin was a dark shade of gray, and his hair long and white. He wore a shirt, that looked more like a ripped black bag in its current condition.

He didn't notice Raggedy Princess sunk in the mud, until he accidentally sunk his crutch into her stomach. He heard its light, haunting wheeze, and immediately pulled his crutch away.

He picked the doll up, and held it in his free hand, examining it closely, looking over every inch of the sloppily stitched-together doll. "Can you talk?" he inquired, feeling so stupid for asking such a thing. Obviously, he must've imagined its wheeze from before.

"Y...yes" she said, still winded from the crutch that'd been jammed into her chest. She coughed up a white lump of stuffing.

"It's okay" Ash said, slinging it over his shoulders. "My house is around here, I'll take you back there, alright?"

"Mhm" her stitched-shut mouth formed itself into a smile, and here eyes widened. Perhaps this strange traveler would take her in forever, and cherish her as long as he lived. Maybe she would be the one and only thing he would seek comfort in in times of need and weakness.

Ash hobbled back towards his house with it still hanging over his shoulders, Raggedy Princess barely able to contain her glee at finally being used, to be treasured, to be valued again.

Ash finally reached his door, and turned the knob, slipping in silently and laying Raggedy Princess onto the nearest chair. Ash yawned, stretching his arms out, before lifting Raggedy Princess up again, this time cradling it gently in his free arm. He laid it down on his bed, and laid down, placing his crutch against the wall.

He held it lovingly in his arms, pulling her close to his chest as he closed his eyes. She could feel his warm breath against her neck as he drifted off into sleep. It began to thunder outside, the house gently shaking. The rain intensified as well, the rain gushing from the blackened sky like bullets from a gun.

Ash held Raggedy Princess closer, and began to speak, his eyes still shut. "You know, I used to be a really bad guy" he said mournfully. "I had another girlfriend. She was one of the best girls I could possibly ask for, but I treated her like shit, so she left me. And she broke my body, which I kind of deserved. I tried to get her to forgive me, but she didn't want any of it. Which is fine, I guess, I mean, I did some really bad stuff, I gave away her favorite doll to a witch. But I never really did have a doll I treasured so much until now"

Raggedy Princess's smile widened, until the stitches over her mouth burst. Surprisingly, it wasn't a very painful, or perhaps the feeling of being so intensely treasured by something. She could feel his lips lightly brush over the back of her head. She drifted into sleep to the tune of the pouring rain.

She awoke later, once she felt the rain wash over her face. Her eyes snapped open, before she realized that she was dangling from Ash's hand, and being carried outside in the rain. "Where...where are we going?" she asked. Ash remained silent, his face not stern or stoic, but apathetic, almost cruelly so.

She could make out a cart in the distance, being dragged along on the shoulders of a merchant. She felt her body slam onto a wooden surface. She could hear the voices of the merchant and Ash above her, speaking in hushed but audible voices.

"How much do you think I could get for this doll?" he said. Raggedy Princess twisted her head upwards. It hurt, but she could now see the chin of the merchant above her as he scratched it with intrigue. "She's a pretty gross looking doll, don't you think? he said. Raggedy Princess felt as if someone's fist had just been driven into her chest. "I couldn't imagine any child that would want to sleep with this. It'd give them nightmares"

She couldn't believe it. Not only was he directly insulting her, but he didn't even recognize that she was royalty.

"I don't know, maybe some weird old lady would put her up on a shelf or something. Between you and me, I heard that this doll is pre-war. Does that make it more valuable?"

He scratched his chin again. "That'd make the value go up a lot. Maybe...20,000 gold coins?"

She could see a smile appear across Ash's face. It looked like a jagged wound someone would get after a knife was dragged down their leg.

"You...you loved me" she said, a small bubble of faith still remaining within her. "You think I really made up all of that sappy bullshit?" he said. "I don't give a shit about you, I just want my money" The merchant dropped a bag of coins into Ash's awaiting hand, which he gleefully accepted, while the merchant tossed her into the back of his cart, and ran away, tugging the cart behind him.

She was left there, feeling as if someone had ripped her apart at the seems

She laid there in the cart, no more valuable than any of the other antiques that surrounded her, and crushed her body. She was just a valuable to sell, a toy to play with and throw away. She only existed for the enjoyment of others without any joy of her own or self-respect, a raggedy-taggedy little plaything


End file.
